By Gary Norman / Mineral Wells Area News
Retired long-time Palo Pinto County Hospital District Board of Directors Member J.C. Colton has a dual identity. While most of his acquaintances know him as “J.C.,” his actual name is James Patrick Colton.
When asked what the “J.C.” stood for, he explained, “Well actually, it is a nickname that was stuck on me when I was in elementary school.” Teachers remembered an older relative, the real J.C. Colton, who had previously been through the school, and dubbed James Patrick Colton as “Little J.C.” He went on to explain, “It kind of stuck, so I began to use those initials, not my true initials, as sort of a nickname.”
Regardless of what name the larger Parker / Palo Pinto County community knows him by, J.C. Colton is known state-wide for his deep commitment to the fields of education and public service.
Rooted in Rural Texas
Colton was born in Weatherford, Texas, then his family moved to a small farm in Aledo, Texas where they raised hay, cattle, and did custom farming. When asked about the changes he has seen in the Aledo area over the years, he commented, “A lot of the ground that we used to either lease for ourselves, or bale hay for other people, are covered up by big, beautiful homes now, and we are going to see more changes in the future.”
After graduating from Aledo High School, he attended Weatherford College then Texas A&M University, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Education and a Master’s Degree in Education.
One of the jobs he held while a student at Texas A&M was as a driver for the Board of Regents. Colton was tasked with picking up board members at the airport and driving them to their meetings on campus. He would also drive them to other regional meetings at Tarleton State University, Prairie View A&M University, and other locations. He commented, “I covered a lot of ground and heard lots of conversations in the back seat. It was interesting, the politics of it, and just how higher education functions.” He did not know it at the time, but it was a portent of things to come in his professional career.
Educator and Builder
As he was finishing up his Master’s Degree at Texas A&M, Colton received a call from Poolville ISD. He attended a board meeting, was interviewed, and was hired on the spot to teach vocational agriculture. He also drove a school bus, kept the clock for all of the home basketball games, and raised funds for playground equipment which his Agriculture students built.
It wasn’t the only lesson he taught his students in giving back to the community. Colton explained, “We put up stop signs around town where there weren’t stop signs. We were out in the community trying to make it a better place to live.”
Later, he moved to work at Weatherford College, his alma mater, where he taught agriculture and oversaw the school farm. He stayed in the classroom for five years when afterwards, Weatherford College moved him to administration in recognition of his talents, abilities, and commitment to public service.
His responsibilities included degree planning, counseling, recruitment, student discipline, registration, and records. He went on to comment, “Gosh, I think I counted one time how many job titles I had with the college in my forty-five years there, but I lost track after about twenty-two or twenty-three.”
Expanding Opportunity in Mineral Wells
Colton retired from Weatherford College in 2008, but he didn’t stay retired for long. Two years later, a new president of Weatherford College, Kevin Eaton, called him with a proposal. Eaton had a plan for a satellite campus at the old Fort Wolters site in Mineral Wells focusing on workforce education.
The new location was to offer training which included truck driving, welding, machine shop, cosmetology, air conditioning and heating, as well as academics. Colton commented, “It was a busy little place.”
Colton worked half-time managing the location for approximately ten years until a new president came on board at Weatherford College who wished to centralize the operations back onto the campus in Weatherford. Colton moved with the operations back to the Weatherford campus where he continued to work three to four days per week. In 2021, after forty-five years of service, Colton retired fully from Weatherford College.
A Calling to Healthcare Service
While still working full time for Weatherford College, in 1999 another opportunity to serve came knocking. He received a call from a fellow Weatherford College administrator, Kathy Boswell, who asked him to drop by for a cup of coffee.
Boswell was a member of the Palo Pinto County Hospital District Board of Directors, a seven-member board where six are elected at large from Palo Pinto County and one is the hospital’s Chief of Staff. Created by the State Legislature, the Hospital District has the power of both taxation in Palo Pinto County and eminent domain to support county health services and the hospital.
Boswell informed Colton one of the founding board members was retiring, which would result in an open seat on the board until the next election. She asked whether he would consider filling the seat for the remainder of the unexpired term and then running for the position. Colton commented, “I’ve always been interested in public service. I think I paused about two seconds and told her ‘Sure, I’ll do it’.”
Colton was appointed to the seat to fill the remaining one year, then stood for election. He was elected and remained on the board continually for the next twenty-four years until he resigned in 2023.
Regarding his tenure, Colton stated, “It was a time of big change for us.” Originally facing a severe budget situation at a time when many rural hospitals were closing their doors and selling the hospital was discussed, Colton and the board were able to bring the hospital back into profitability and expand the services it offered to the community.
During his tenure, the hospital added a heart and rehab center, along with a medical office building housing orthopedics, urology, pediatrics, and OB-GYN.
“After that, folks came knocking on our door,” Colton said. “A local air ambulance service wanted to base one of their helicopters here. And that is how Air Evac came to have their helicopter based right next to the hospital.”
The hospital also worked with the City of Mineral Wells to provide space and co-staffing for an ambulance service.
Most recently, a wound care center was added to the Palo Pinto General Hospital campus. An existing medical office building was remodeled to house the facility and other medical offices. The building was renamed the James Patrick (J.C.) Colton Medical Office Building in recognition of Colton’s service to the hospital district and the community.
“If you have the honor of knowing J.C. Colton, you can understand why the Board wanted to recognize him,” Boswell said during the dedication ceremony.
A Life of Support, at Home and Beyond
While working at Weatherford College and serving on the hospital board, Colton also had a third career — helping support the family business, Hill’s Style Shop, a local women’s clothing store in Mineral Wells started by his father-in-law in 1946.
In 1980, Colton’s wife, Margaret, took over the shop, which she ran until her retirement in 2012. Margaret also served on the Mineral Wells City Council from 2001 to 2005 and again from 2007 to 2013.
When asked about his role at Hill’s, Colton replied, “I did her heavy lifting… and I provided her a second set of eyes and an opinion when it was market time.”
Colton even accompanied her to fashion shows to help choose lines that stood out.
A Life Well Lived
Colton had many offers over the years for positions outside of education and public service — including becoming the voice of Big Tex at the Texas State Fair and co-hosting a morning show on WBAP radio. But he always returned to his calling.
“Some people seek fame or fortune. Probably, that is where I fell short. I had opportunities for jobs where I could have made significantly more money. But I passed them by because education has always been one of those things where I think you could have a direct [impact] on other people’s lives.”
“I was the first in my family to graduate from high school and college. I saw first-hand what education could do for people, and that’s why I committed my life to that.”
“I have no regrets. I am very satisfied where life has taken me.”
Colton has been a resident of Mineral Wells since 1985, where he and Margaret raised twin daughters and a son. They have two grandchildren.
“J.C. Colton is, in every sense, a living archive of our hospital’s history. His deep knowledge and perspective, shaped by almost three decades of experience, have been invaluable to the Board… We are profoundly grateful for his service and miss his presence on the board greatly.”
Raymond Greenwood, President of the Palo Pinto County Hospital District Board of Directors.